Genovia's Kissing Festival 2004
by RevSue
Summary: A ClarisseJoseph romantic moment set on Valentine's Day, 2004 ...


_Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters since Princess Diaries 1 & 2, and its characters are the property of Disney, Buena Vista, and Meg Cabot. I make no money from this work of fiction._

GENOVIA'S KISSING FESTIVAL 2004

Clarisse looked at herself in the mirror, and her eyes widened. Mia had brought her the outfit just this morning from America specifically to wear tonight at Genovia's First Annual Valentine's Day Kissing Festival, a festival whose inception could also be 'blamed' on her grand-daughter. Mia had approached Clarisse the previous Christmas, after reading on the Internet a write up about the February fourteenth Kissing Festival in the Philippines. Clarisse had vetoed the idea at first, saying that Genovia, like most of Europe, did not blow Valentine's Day all out of proportion as was the tendency of Americans. She finally was persuaded when Mia took the idea to Charlotte who rather reluctantly agreed to help Mia promote it and arranged for Mia to meet with Parliament.

Still surprised by the interest most Parliamentarians had shown in the idea, Clarisse burned at the memory of the Viscount Mabrey's objection and the comments she had overheard him muttering to Lord Crawley on his way out of the parliament chambers. "What's next? A kissing booth at the Independence Day parade? Perhaps the princess, or no, the QUEEN selling her kisses? That should add considerably to the coffers of the country!"

Lord Crawley had chuckled, agreeing with the Viscount, but then had winked as he said, "We could be FIRST in line, though. I must say, I'd be willing to purchase a few kisses if Queen Clarisse was the one selling them. For the sake of Genovia, you understand."

The Viscount had snorted, saying, "I know a certain Head of Security who would doubtless purchase the entire booth to keep her kisses for himself!" and the two had strode on.

Clarisse had been furious, but unable to retaliate without having the vile insinuation spread even further. What had been almost as bad as hearing the two men, however, had been wondering if what they had said was true, if Joseph WOULD perchance want to keep her kisses for himself. It had occurred to her before that he found her attractive, but nothing in his most circumspect behaviour over the years had led her, or probably anyone else except the two scandalmongers she had just overheard, to believe that he was enamoured of her! Now she pulled herself back from that unpleasant memory, and surveyed herself in the mirror again. Her grand-daughter, well aware that Clarisse liked wearing pants for comfort although she felt they were not dressy enough for a queen in public situations, had picked out a pantsuit that was quite elegant.

"So, Grandma, what do you think?" Mia popped into the room and her eyes widened. "WHOA! You look fantastic! That pantsuit is dressy and sexy and PERFECT for Valentine's Day!"

"Sexy?" Clarisse almost choked.

Made out of rich, red silk, the wide pants gave the illusion of a slim skirt, with a sheer red layer over it which was embroidered on the lower left leg with three glittery silver hearts. A rather tightly-fitted, deep V-neck, sleeveless top in a stretchy red silk was topped by a heavier weight thigh-length matching jacket with the silver hearts embroidered around the lower border, on the patchwork pockets and over one shoulder. A sheer red scarf with the ends bordered in silver hearts completed the ensemble. Clarisse kept fiddling with the jacket, trying to pull it closed to hide her exposed cleavage, but it was too tight. She eventually gave up and tied the scarf so that it covered her. "There, that's the best I can do."

Mia said, "You know, you REALLY look gorgeous! Are you going to wear a tiara?"

"I don't think so," Clarisse looked a little amused. "Are you?"

"No. I was hoping we didn't have to. So you'll wear that tonight, right?"

"Yes, I will. And Mia, thank you. It's a lovely gift."

"It's the least I can do for my favourite grandma." Mia grinned.

"Your only living grandmother," Clarisse observed dryly. She adjusted the jacket again, scowling a bit as she eyed her reflection.

Grinning, Mia said, "I guess I could have got the next size, but really, Grandma, this looks just terrific on you! Joseph will swoon when he sees you!"

"Um, darling, I think you might have got a little confused somewhere..." Clarisse began, frowning slightly at Mia's impertinence.

"Oh, don't be silly, Grandma! Lilly agrees with me. We're not blind, even if everyone in Genovia is! Well, everybody except for Charlotte. She knows what's going on, too." Mia grinned as Clarisse's aide came to the door at that moment. "Right, Charlotte?"

"She does, does she? Please, let me in on the secret. What exactly IS going on?" Clarisse said lightly, even as she tugged once more on the edges of the jacket before giving up.

"Oh, Grandma!" Mia sounded exasperated.

"Yes, Charlotte?" Clarisse looked quizzically at the younger woman still hovering by the door waiting to be acknowledged.

"Excuse me, your Majesty, your highness," Charlotte said, "the English Toffee cappuccino the princess asked to be available has come, and the booth is presently being set up in the square."

"You asked for special cappuccino?" Clarisse stared at Mia, who looked a little shamefaced.

"Well, you can get it at lots of gas stations and convenience stores in the States," Mia defended her request. "And I really love it! You will, too, Grandma, I promise! It has a heavenly smell, and the taste is to die for!"

"Hmmm," was Clarisse's only response.

Then Mia startled Clarisse by giving her a big hug. "Thank you, Grandma, for letting this festival go ahead, and for sending the jet over for Lilly and me. Tonight'll be a blast!" She whirled out the door in search of her friend.

Clarisse stared at Charlotte who returned the look with a faint smile. "Tonight should be fun," Charlotte ventured.

"Hmmm," Clarisse responded again, a little grimly this time. "A real 'blast', as Mia says."

Joseph had not liked the idea of the public Kissing Festival, particularly because Princess Mia was so set on attending it with her grandmother. He announced that afternoon that he would be personally sticking close to Queen Clarisse all night if she was going to be so untoward as to venture out into the streets without proper security! He further informed Shades that the younger man was responsible for the princess and her friend, and that Charlotte was to keep close by as well. That was the only way he would agree to such preposterous behaviour.

Mia had almost kissed him when he had grumpily agreed to 'allow' them to attend, and informed him that he would thank her when he saw the queen that evening. Clarisse's eyes had widened as she had gasped, "Mia!" before uncharacteristically whirling around and hurrying out of the room, her face a becoming pink. Mia and Lilly had both collapsed into a fit of giggles, prompting Joseph to stalk out of the room, pretending he was not aware of their presence.

It was not an hour later that the two young women burst into the library, surprising Joseph who was sitting at the desk there. He quickly folded up the paper he was writing, and suavely answered their excited questions without revealing a thing.

"Are you writing a Valentine ode to your one true love?" Mia giggled.

Putting the paper in his pocket, Joseph smiled tightly, but said nothing.

"You're too secretive, Joe," Mia scowled.

"Not at all, your Highness," he stood up and bowed politely. "Is there something else I may help you with?"

"Actually," Lilly said, staring at him, "I was kinda wondering why you were wearing your shades inside."

"We've been working with the fluorescent lights, Miss Lilly. I don't normally wear them inside," Joseph took the sunglasses off, ostentatiously cleaned them and put them in his jacket pocket.

He excused himself, and Lilly and Mia, promptly forgetting about looking up some of the Genovian history they had come to do, began to speculate as to what he might have been writing.

"Love poems!" Mia said dreamily.

"A grocery list?" Lilly pondered.

"It LOOKED like a valentine ... a poem, or something! And it IS Valentine's Day!"

"Wonder who his true love IS?" mused Lilly. "One of the maids? A countess? Charlotte?" She giggled, then said, "It's gotta be for your grandma, Mia! It's just GOT to be!"

"I asked her on the phone last week if she exchanged valentines with anyone, and she just laughed," Mia sighed. "They don't do that sort of thing here, I told you that."

"Then why did you say Joe was writing a valentine love poem? It probably WAS his grocery list!"

"He eats here. I think. So I doubt he has to buy groceries."

Just then, Clarisse entered the library, closely followed by Charlotte. "Mia, Lilly, Joseph said you were here. Charlotte is heading down to the square now to help set things up, and was wondering if you two would be interested in going with her, especially since this was your idea, Mia."

"Sure! Oh, and Grandma, we caught Joe writing something, but he won't tell us what it was. Could you maybe ORDER him to show it to us?"

Clarisse looked puzzled. "Writing what?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "We don't know. That's what we want to find out!"

"Do I even WANT to know?" Clarisse inquired.

"Your highness," Charlotte broke in, "Shades is waiting with the limousine at the door ..."

"Okay. Will we be back in time to change?" Mia abandoned her questioning and looked down at the jeans she was currently wearing.

"Of course!" Charlotte assured her.

"Okay, let's roll!" Lilly grinned.

O o O o O o

Both Lilly and Mia were bubbling over with excitement by the time they returned to the palace.

"Oh, Grandma, it's so COOL! And they have some games planned, and the best thing of all is the ..."

"SHH!" Lilly dug her elbow into her friend's side. "Can it, Motormouth! It's supposed to be a surprise!"

Mia covered her mouth with her hand. "Oops. Can't say any more. So, Grandma, did you find out what Joe was writing this afternoon?"

Joseph, who was standing to one side, looked over at the girls quickly, then at Clarisse. She met his eyes for just a moment, then turned to her grand-daughter. "No, Mia, and I have no intentions of prying into his private and personal affairs."

"Oh, pooh!" Mia pouted.

"Yeah. What's the point of being queen if you can't command someone to tell you something?" muttered Lilly.

"I BEG your pardon?" Clarisse raised her eyebrow as she looked at Lilly, who flushed and immediately apologized contritely, both to Clarisse and to Joseph. Mia quickly followed her friend's example. Clarisse nodded her acceptance of the apologies, then said, "Now, shall we eat?"

O o O o O o

Eying herself in the mirror, Clarisse gave one more tug on the jacket and adjusted the scarf over her rather exposed cleavage before smiling at Olivia and Priscilla. "I guess that's the best we can do. Why don't you two go and change yourselves now?"

"Thank you, your Majesty!" and they both disappeared immediately.

When Clarisse appeared in the foyer, Charlotte having hurried ahead to tell the others she was on her way, she smiled at the young girls and posed a little to show off her outfit. "Do I meet your approval, Mia? And yours, Lilly?"

"Wow, your Majesty!" Lilly's mouth hung open momentarily. "Wow. Mia was right. I thought that was sweet on the mannequin in the store, but on you ... WOW!"

"Told you she looked fabulous!" Mia crowed. "What do YOU think, Joe?"

Clarisse couldn't meet his eyes, for some strange and not-to-be-examined reason, but she could feel his admiring gaze burning over her body. She turned away without a word. "Come along, girls, we don't want to be late, do we?"

"No ... oh, just wait'll you SEE it!" Mia gushed.

"It's a little tacky, but we didn't have a whole lot to work with," Lilly grimaced.

Part of the main street of Pyrus and the centre square had been cordoned off to prevent vehicles from entering. Strings of heart-shaped red paper lanterns were hung across the street, there were little red cinnamon heart candies in dishes on any available surface and floating in the vats of hot pear cider for sale. Many sizes and colours of paper hearts hung on every available surface. There was a row of booths with food and various games of chance and skill. There were booths selling silk roses which flashed red hearts in the centres, and heart-shaped love testers which flashed a yes, no or maybe to questions asked when touched, and even toilet paper decorated with red lips which quite horrified Clarisse when she saw it. The pièce de résistance was a giant piñata hanging just off to one side of the central band stand where the live band was set up on the stage. The piñata was in the shape of a huge heart supported by two Cupids and huge kissing lips on other sides. Clarisse eyed it, rather askance, and Mia and Lilly both giggled again.

"Guess what, Grandma? Mr. Motaz was here earlier and he said that if you hit one of the cupids, you'll hear a voice saying, 'I love you' and if you hit the lips, you hear kissing sounds, but neither one is supposed to break. The only thing that's supposed to break is the heart ... and it's full of pear-flavoured chocolate kisses and other valentine candies! Isn't that the coolest idea? Mr. Motaz said they had decided to have a piñata for everyone because one of the traditions that goes with them says that we often go around life with our eyes covered, trying to find the good things and working hard to get them. Once the piñata breaks and lets out the goodies, then it symbolizes charity because everyone gets to share in the wonderful gifts and blessings. I just think that's so sweet, don't you?"

Clarisse privately felt that the decorations were rather tacky, as Lilly had said, and overdone ... she almost wished she could find an excuse to return to the palace and leave the festivities to those who appreciated them more. So far the only pleasing thing she had noticed about the evening was the lovely smell of roses wafting through the air, doubtless from the many bunches of real red roses sold at quite a few of the booths.

"Oh, good, we're in time for the first game!" Lilly exclaimed as Sebastian Motaz climbed up the steps to the stage and appropriated the microphone, welcoming everyone to the first and hopefully Annual Kissing Festival in Genovia.

The Prime Minister then announced the game, appropriately entitled 'My Prince Charming'. "You are asked to get into male/female pairs. For this game, the men have to take off their partner's shoes and then make a number of circles, each with a maximum of twenty men. The men will be blindfolded and the shoes will then be thrown into the middle of the circle. On "GO" all men must go (with verbal directions from their partners) and retrieve their partner's shoes and put each shoe back correctly on the appropriate foot. The winning couple is the one managing to have the lady's shoes back on first. We'll continue the game until the last couple does it right! Are you ready?"

Clarisse looked around, only to find that Charlotte and Shades were standing together, laughing as Shades slipped off Charlotte's high heels. Mia and Lilly had been approached by two young men and were smiling at them as they knelt to remove their shoes. Joseph edged closer to her. "Your Majesty," he began in a low voice, "I do not think that ..."

"I need a partner, Joseph, and it appears that you are the only one not yet taken," she said lightly. Not waiting for his assent, and taking his arm, she held out her foot for him to take her shoe. "Examine it closely while you can," she advised him, laughing a little, "and I only hope I can see them in the pile bound to be in the centre!"

"I'd rather tell you what I was writing earlier," he grumbled, but when she peeked at him, she realized he was smiling as he took off her shoes and turned them over in his hands before going to join the other men in a circle.

With the other women, Clarisse stood closely behind her partner, and blindfolded him with the scarf she was handed. The shoes were all cast into the centre of the circle one at a time, then the Prime Minister banged one of the drums, and the men were pushed forward as the women began to shout excited instructions. It seemed like no time at all before a shout went up and Charlotte was hugging a blushing Shades. Sebastian Motaz announced the winning couple, but encouraged the others to keep going. Clarisse quickly realized that Joseph heard her instructions best if she spoke in a lower voice than the others, but with the men all pawing at the shoes, it made it difficult for her to see where hers were. Occasionally Joseph would hold up a pump similar to hers, and she would have to tell him that it was the wrong colour. At last he held up one and she cried, "Yes, that's IT, Joseph!"

She kept speaking so he could find her, then he started to go on his knees before her, grinning as he said, "Your slipper, Cinderella?"

"Oh, Joseph, your knees!" Clarisse exclaimed, slipping her foot into the shoe and tugging on his arms. "Get up before you break them!"

"I'll have you know the Queen paid for the finest titanium knees possible," he said, rising to his feet.

"I don't think she would want you to needlessly ruin them, Prince Charming," Clarisse chuckled. "Go back and find my other shoe, please ... we are DREADFULLY behind!"

"Your wish is my command, your Majesty!" and he turned back to the pile of shoes which was now much smaller than before. In fact, by the time he got back there, it was the only shoe left, so Clarisse had only to direct him further to his left, then ahead about a foot before he got it.

A round of applause startled them both as he straightened up from putting the shoe on her foot, and Joseph ripped off the blindfold and looked around. The Prime Minister bowed slightly and said to Clarisse, "Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that you and your Prince Charming win the booby prize this evening. May you have better luck in the next game!"

"I don't think I can take another game," Clarisse murmured to Joseph in an undertone.

"Shall we go try some of Mia's imported English Toffee cappuccino?"

"I would prefer tea, but I don't suppose I'll be able to have that here," Clarisse sighed for her comfortable chair in her suite, with her favourite china tea cup in her hands.

Joseph beckoned to Shades who came up instantly. "How are the Princess and Miss Lilly faring?"

"They're over at the cappuccino booth." Shades indicated them.

"I'm going for some as well. You stay here with Queen Clarisse." Joseph ordered, and he headed for the booth, adroitly avoiding the players in the next game which appeared to involve dancing while the music was playing, but when it stopped suddenly, everyone was scrambling to get one of the red-coloured paper heart decorations from a wall or string. Those who grabbed one of the other colours were declared out of the game, and the music resumed.

When he returned with two styrofoam cups and handed one to Clarisse, Joseph nodded at Shades and the younger man melted back into the crowds to be with Mia and Lilly. Charlotte was with them, too, and the four were talking animatedly as they sipped the cappuccino. Clarisse took a sip of the drink and controlled her grimace. It was much too sweet for her liking! Then she was greeting some of the Parliament members with a smile, and agreeing to dance with Lord Palimore 'as soon as the silly game was over and some decent music was played.'

Joseph stood back, but kept a close eye on her as she danced with the elderly Lord, then with the Prime Minister who took the one dance away from singing and playing with the band. Sebastian was having the time of his life on the stage that night, and his laugh could be heard booming over the whole square time and again. Then it was time for the breaking of the piñata .

As directed by the Prime Minister, everyone on the street that night jostled into position in a line beginning with the youngest. The piñata was lowered for the smallest children and they were given three chances to hit at it with a thin stick. A couple hit the Cupids and giggled when they heard the intoned "I love you!" voice. Others hit the lips and said, "Euwww, gross!" when the kissing sounds could be heard.

Mia and Lilly both had their turns at being blindfolded, spun and handed a stick, but neither came close. When it was Clarisse's turn, Mia tied the blindfold on herself, and turned her grandmother around twice before gently pushing her in the direction of the piñata and telling her to swing hard, high, and left. Clarisse tried, but hit nothing. Mia yelled she was to try a little more to her left, so again Clarisse swung the stick, almost overbalancing in her zeal. Nothing. Mia laughed. "Is that the best you can do, Grandma?"

When it was Joseph's turn, Mia encouraged him as well, yelling, "Hey, Joe, if you break it, you'll get your wish, you know! And it's kinda like when you blow out all the candles on your birthday cake -- you don't have to TELL your wish to anyone and it'll still come true!"

Lilly yelled, "Come on, Joe, go for it! Break that sucker!"

Joseph stood perfectly still for a moment in concentration, the stick poised as he listened for the gentle swish of the piñata which was swaying before him. Then, with one quick, well-place blow, he split the piñata, sending the candies cascading all over the street. When the Prime Minister came up to shake his hand and ask him how he managed it, Clarisse smiled to herself when Joseph shrugged and said it was something he had been trained to do -- sense where alien objects were located, and attack before being attacked.

Lilly and Mia, their hands full of the chocolate kisses, beamed at Joseph and he leaned closer to Mia and murmured, "So, your highness, do you really think my wish will come true?"

"Someday, Joe," she grinned. "Someday. Guaranteed! And if you'll tell me whether or not the thing you were writing earlier was a valentine love poem, I'll use my royal privilege to make SURE you get your wish. Deal?"

"I don't think so, your highness," and he turned away, winking at Clarisse while gravely ignoring Mia's crestfallen expression.

For the next hour, Clarisse followed Mia and Lilly around the square as they examined the various booths. Joseph was right behind them, of course, and Shades and Charlotte trailed the group. The music seemed to be becoming louder and more raucous, and Clarisse glanced at her watch more than once, her desire to leave growing by leaps and bounds.

At last, as they stood watching the dancers, the Prime Minister took the microphone again, and everyone became quiet. "We've heard that about 5,300 kissing couples in Manila smooched their way into the Guinness Book of World Records last night, surpassing the previous world best set in Chile by 4,445 couples last month. We're not attempting to beat any record here in Genovia," said Sebastian Motaz, "we're building a tradition only. Perhaps next year we will want to go and relive the whole thing, turning this into an annual festival! Think of it! So many kisses, so many heartbeats, and probably so many people falling in love for the second time around! Now for the rules. Couples are asked to kiss for ten seconds, but if they want to extend, so be it. In fact, there will be a prize for the couple who can smooch the longest!" Everyone laughed. "One hundred dollars will be donated to the orphanage for every second the kiss extends past the benchmark time of ten seconds. And now, let's continue the dancing! A drumroll will gain your attention and I will give the signal to begin the grand finale of Genovia's Kissing Festival 2004!"

As the music resumed, Clarisse shook her head slightly. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous! Then she felt a hand touch her waist lightly. "Your Majesty? Would you care to dance? They are finally again playing something to which I believe it is possible to dance."

Clarisse smiled at Joseph. "Yes, it IS somewhat calmer than the last few songs, I will agree. Thank you. I'd love to dance with you." She moved into his arms, and they began circling. "Where has Mia gone now?"

"I believe she and Miss Lilly are huddled over by the cappuccino booth."

"Ugh." Clarisse made a face. "That concoction was entirely too sweet for my liking! And the styrofoam cup made it simply unbearable!"

"Charlotte seemed to find it to her liking as well," Joseph chuckled. "Shades grimaced when he tasted it, but he managed to finish his cupful. In fact, those two are actually having another with the princess and Miss Lilly."

Clarisse looked over to where he indicated the others, and shuddered. Her fingers tightened on Joseph's hand as they executed a twirl, then, when she was close to him again, she resumed the conversation. "Did YOU like it, Joseph?"

For a moment, he looked blank, and the hand on her waist jerked a little, propelling her into his body so that she could feel his length imprinted on her body from breast to knee. She gasped at the bolt of fire sent streaking through her, and the wild urge to press even closer to him. It seemed as if he fit her very well ... She was about to pull away, her face crimsoning, when the drumroll caught her attention.

"Time to kiss!" boomed Sebastian Motaz, with a hearty laugh as he pulled his smiling wife into his arms.

Joseph and Clarisse looked at each other, then at the other's mouth. Clarisse's tongue touched her upper lip then she slowly raised her eyes to Joseph's again. The crowd surrounding them effectively vanished. Both leaned forward slightly, hesitated, then began to draw back. Clarisse dragged her gaze from Joseph's and caught a glimpse of Charlotte enveloped in Shades' arms, being thoroughly kissed. She looked around for Mia, and blinked when her grand-daughter materialized at her side, Lilly in tow, both with mischievous looks on their faces.

Mia urged in a whisper, "Go on, Grandma! Do it, Joe!"

Lilly jostled Joseph, "Now's your chance, Shaft!" and the two girls giggled, then darted away.

Clarisse's wide gaze turned back to Joseph, and she realized with a sense of shock that she was still in his arms. Slowly, as if he expected her to stop him, Joseph drew Clarisse closer and his lips met hers. An electric spark passed between them, jolting both of them to a heightened awareness of the other. As Joseph deepened the kiss, Clarisse instinctively followed his lead, meeting his fire with her own. Completely forgetting their audience, the intensity of the kiss took Clarisse's breath away, and her pulse rocketed. Joseph's attraction seemed like that of a magnet and she leaned yearningly into him, kissing him with all the pent-up fervour that had existed unacknowledged inside her since she had first met him years ago. Almost five years ago, in San Francisco, she had been forced to concede privately that she felt more for him than she should, but her sense of duty to the crown and to the people of Genovia had made her control and conceal her longing as much as possible.

Now Clarisse's arms slid around Joseph's waist almost of their own volition, and she could feel his arms tightening around her. Every bone in her body dissolved until she had no will, nothing but the kiss to end all kisses. Vaguely she found herself thinking that it was the most erotic kiss she had ever experienced in her entire life. Would that it would never end! The kiss went on and on as Clarisse pressed herself closer and gave herself up to him body and soul. When they finally broke apart, Clarisse was breathing heavily, as was Joseph. She had to fight for control so as not to throw herself back into his arms and beg him to kiss her again and again.

"I've wanted to kiss you for many years now," Joseph admitted huskily, seemingly unaware of anyone around them, "but in such a public place was not quite what I bargained for, your Majesty!" There was wry humour in his voice, and Clarisse shared it.

"No," she admitted softly. "Not quite." She had not agreed to this Kissing Festival idea of Mia's for a romantic encounter of her own! The kiss had deeply unsettled her, but she could still feel the pure joy singing in her veins. Joseph's kiss had stirred her in ways she had thought would never happen again. Then she revised that thought. She had NEVER felt the way Joseph's kiss had made her feel. Surely this wasn't ... LOVE? It couldn't be ... could it? Now? After all these years?

"What did I tell you about the kissing booth and those two?"

Clarisse overheard the Viscount's distinctive sneering voice, but when she looked around quickly, there was no sign of him. Then the Prime Minister was beside them again, grinning. "Congratulations, your Majesty! Your efforts have won you the prize this evening! I know the orphanage and indeed all of Genovia thank you heartily for supporting this Kissing Festival so well, even to the extent of kissing for the unprecedented time of seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds!"

Striving desperately to appear cool, calm, collected and in control, Clarisse merely smiled an acknowledgement, then looked around for Mia and Lilly. Shades and Charlotte ushered them up immediately, and they followed Clarisse and Joseph to the car, leaving the other Genovians to continue the dancing festivities into the night.

Although Joseph was sitting next to Clarisse on the way home, by unspoken consent they did not talk about the kiss they had shared nor the emotions they had stirred. Mia and Lilly dozed, and Charlotte sat in the front seat close to Shades. Even though she wasn't willing to talk about the events of the evening, Clarisse found that she was even more acutely conscious of Joseph's proximity than she ever had been before. Her heart beat rapidly and irregularly, and she wondered only that he couldn't hear the thumps.

When they reached the palace, the girls both perked up, and wanted to talk about the festival and in particular about the finale, when Clarisse and Joseph had won the prize for kissing the longest. Joseph, however, merely bowed and excused himself, taking Shades with him, citing security concerns. Charlotte, a dreamy look in her brown eyes, offered her goodnights as well.

"Are you going to leave, too, Grandma?" Mia asked.

In spite of her strong wishes to hide in her chambers for the next week in order to avoid seeing Joseph again and experiencing the rush of feelings which still tingled through her at the thought of their kiss, Clarisse forced herself to smile. "I'll stay up with you just a little longer. I feel the need of a good cup of tea to take away the taste of that vile concoction you seem to adore."

"You didn't LIKE it, your Majesty?" Lilly was astonished.

"I'm afraid not, Lilly," Clarisse returned.

Ordering a cup of tea delivered to the library for herself and two mugs of the cappuccino for the girls, Clarisse led the way. She promptly began asking questions about how the school year was going for both of them, knowing that Lilly had just begun her Master's program while Mia was finishing up her course preparatory to moving to Genovia to take over the throne. Sipping her tea and listening to some of the stories the two were telling, Clarisse gradually found herself relaxing for the first time in a couple of hours.

Then, when both Lilly and Mia began yawning, and the clock struck 11:30, Clarisse rose to her feet gracefully. "We should go to bed, as it will be an early morning if you two are to get back to California at a reasonable time tomorrow night."

As she passed the desk, Mia remembered seeing Joseph sitting there writing something. "Darn! I never DID find out what Joe was writing! It looked like a poem, Grandma. I was wondering if it was a love poem for Valentine's Day! Wouldn't that be romantic?"

"I said it was probably his grocery list!" Lilly added.

Clarisse had inwardly stiffened at the thought of Joseph writing a love poem to someone, but she forced the flare of jealousy away and smiled faintly at Lilly's comment. "You do know what they say about curiosity, do you not, Mia?"

"Yeah, I know," Mia sighed. "But I still wish I knew. Oh well. Good night, Grandma! Thank you SO much for doing this for me!"

Hugging her grand-daughter tightly, an action much easier now than it had been the first time five years ago, Clarisse said, "You're welcome, darling, but I really didn't do anything. You talked Parliament into it, and you and Lilly helped Charlotte with setting it up. I think it was somewhat of a success, too, as a matter of fact, and I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks!" Mia hugged her again.

"Good night, your Majesty," Lilly said, and the three parted company.

As Clarisse was undressing shortly thereafter, she found a paper in her pocket that had not been there earlier. Smoothing it open, she recognized Joseph's writing, and realized it must be what Mia and Lilly had seen him writing earlier in the day. When had he managed to transfer it to her pocket? Wryly, she realized it could have been any time that night. Her heart began to beat faster again as she read it through. It was not addressed to her, and he had not signed it, but she knew he meant it for her. Queen Clarisse's dreams that night were full of a certain courtly gentleman who should have remained OUT of her heart, but who seemed to have attained an unprecedented position right at its core.

TO MY VALENTINE:

Accept the things to which fate binds you,

and love the people with whom fate brings you together,

but do so with all your heart.

- Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180)

Love feels no burden,

thinks nothing of trouble,

attempts what is above its strength,

pleads no excuse of impossibility...

It is therefore able to undertake all things,

and it completes many things,

and warrants them to take effect,

where he who does not love would faint and lie down.

Love is watchful; and sleeping, slumbereth not.

Though weary, it is not tired;

though pressed, it is not straitened;

though alarmed, it is not confounded...

- Thomas A. Kempis (1380-1471)

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life:

that word is love.

- Sophocles (c. 496-406 B.C.)

LOVE


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